Conservative MP Bob Blackman writes about the Iranian people’s ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy following two major recent conferences in Warsaw and Munich.

The aftershocks of the Warsaw Summit, which paved the way for a global coalition against the Iranian regime's malevolent activities in the region, have now gripped the theocratic dictatorship with state-run media and government officials sounding alarm bells.

“The nature of the Warsaw Summit is considered unprecedented in the past 30 years,” the state-run Arman Daily chimed.

Regime officials also expressed concern over a large gathering of the Iranian opposition coalition (NCRI) which took place alongside the Warsaw Summit, warning that it sent “an important message” to the theocracy in Tehran.

The Warsaw Summit and the ensuing Munich Security Conference earlier in February could lead to catastrophic implications for the regime.

“It would not be unexpected for Washington to want to double the pressure on (Iran) at the Munich conference,” the state-run Jahan San’at wrote on February 16.

This forecast was not altogether false.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the US Vice-President Mike Pence called the regime in Tehran a “murderous revolutionary regime” adding that they had “gathered [in Warsaw] to discuss their mutual commitment to confront Iran.”

“As I said at that gathering, the time has come for all of us to act. The time has come for our European partners to stop undermining US sanctions against this murderous revolutionary regime,” Vice-President Pence said.

This forced Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to intervene personally to warn his officials about not “fearing the enemy”.

"The US is very obviously showing force (against us) and the Europeans are taking deceptive actions… Officials should not be deceived and should not fear the enemy", he said in a speech on February 18.

Khamenei’s acknowledgement that the current crises had regime officials panicking clarifies two issues.

1. The panic and fear of the regime’s followers have now spread to decision-makers at the top of the regime.

2. The growing fear in officials is not an isolated case and has overtaken the entire theocracy.

The panic at the top is due to a combination of domestic and international crises and the lack of a solution to the plethora of problems.

The Iranian Foreign Minister’s angry reaction at the Munich Conference where he visibly lost his temper when asked by the moderator Lyse Doucet of the BBC about the regime’s human rights violations and terrorist activities against Iranian dissidents was an obvious indication of the “distress”.

“The United States is listening to the wrong folks,” he said citing the [leading Iranian opposition group] MEK/PMOI.

The Iranian opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) where MEK/PMOI is a constituent, offers a viable democratic alternative to the current theocratic regime and it has showcased its abilities over the course of these gatherings in February.

In a conference at the French parliament, the NCRI President-elect Mrs Maryam Rajavi called on the French government to initiate a bold policy in the EU which respects the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy.

It is clear that February was a very tumultuous month for Iran’s regime whose officials are in fear of future developments. As senior Iranian cleric Makarem Shirazi said, “there is no going back” for the regime.

Bob Blackman is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Harrow East. This article first appeared in PoliticsHome